Jesus entered the City of David his Ancestor in Triumph
Today’s Gospel passages about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and suffering at the hands of his people exemplify a pattern in salvation history.
In 539 B.C., Cyrus the king of Persia entered the city of Babylon in triumph. He was a nobody, the king of an unknown people who built the world’s greatest empire in one generation. The greatest city in the world welcomed the upstart with open gates in order to avert siege and destruction. The Persian presented himself as liberator from Babylon’s own incompetent kings. He was also hailed as liberator by many captive peoples he freed from Babylonian tyranny, including the exiled Judeans. He entered the city’s enormous gate in a grand military parade with nobles and officers, many soldiers and notable prisoners, and was welcomed by priests at the city’s center and principal temple to offer extravagant sacrifices. This event became iconic. It set the standard of triumphal imagery for centuries. Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic monarchs, and Roman Emperors modeled royal triumphs on Cyrus’ entry to Babylon.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem followed this pattern but was strikingly different. He rode a donkey, not a war horse or chariot; he was accompanied by disciples, not officers; he was welcomed by the humble people of the city, not dignitaries and priests. It echoes what had been foretold by the Angel Gabriel before he was conceived: “The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:32-33). They welcomed him with cries of “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest” (Lk 19:38) echoing the song of the angels at the birth of the Lord. But how does this fulfill the prophecy of an unending kingdom of David’s heir?
David was chosen by God to be king of Israel and to be an image of God’s plans for the future: a good king who united God’s scattered people, brought security and prosperity, and was an image and mediator of God as his chosen one. But David also suffered a lot. After he was hailed as a hero for his victories against the Philistines and received praise when entering all the cities of Israel (1 Samuel 18:6-7), the jealousy of King Saul led him to resent David and eventually turn on him. David lived as a fugitive from the king for many years, and even after Saul’s death was not acknowledged as king of all Israel for many years. After being welcomed and hailed as a hero, it was only after another 20 years of struggle and threats of death that David came into his kingdom.
Jesus was enthusiastically welcomed and lauded by his people, and yet he was not to enter his kingdom except after suffering. Rather than a display at an opulent temple, the sacrifice that would inaugurate the everlasting kingdom would be his own death on the cross outside the walls. Unrecognized at the time, this followed closely the pattern that David had followed. It was not until he had endured the greatest personal suffering and overcome all enemies that he entered into his kingdom. Indeed, Jesus brought peace and glory beyond anything that the crowds of Jerusalem imagined as they cheered his arrival, but at the price of his own blood poured out to make our entry into his kingdom possible.
As we begin the celebration of Holy Week, let us acclaim Jesus and follow him on the way, not abandoning him as the crowd in Jerusalem did but remaining with him as we commemorate the Passion with which he purchased our freedom and made us a kingdom.
-Fr. Nathan
